Imazu Lighthouse, Wooden lighthouse in Nishinomiya, Japan.

Imazu Lighthouse is a wooden lighthouse built in the shape of a lantern, standing near the port of Imazu in Nishinomiya, Japan. It is one of the few remaining wooden lighthouses in the country and continues to function as a navigation aid for passing ships.

The lighthouse was first set up in 1810 by Chobei the Fifth of the Osabe family, brewers of Imazu who shipped sake, cotton and dried sardines by taru-kaisen cargo boats. The present tower was rebuilt in 1858 by the family's sixth head, Bunjiro. In 1884 the seventh head, Bunjiro, received the Blue Ribbon Medal and a silver cup for the lighthouse and the keepers' service. It was dismantled and repaired in 1965, restored to its original form in 1984, and moved about 160 m southwest in 2023-2024.

The wooden surface of the lighthouse carries Japanese characters that connect it to the local brewing trade and seafaring life of the region. Visitors who look closely at the structure can see how private commerce and public safety once went hand in hand in this port town.

The lighthouse stands about 1.3 km southwest of Kusugawa Station on the Hanshin line, or roughly 600 m southwest of the Imazukōchō bus stop served by Hanshin Bus from Koshien and other points. Visitors can approach the lighthouse and its monument on foot, but temporary fencing and construction materials from the relocation work can alter the surroundings, so expect a changed setting.

Although the structure was fully restored in 1984, it still operates as an active lighthouse, which is unusual for a wooden building of this age. What makes it especially notable is that it was privately funded by a brewer, not built by any government or port authority.